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Mom's battle with cancer inspires daughter to new career

David Manning/StaffBreast cancer survivor Cindy South works with classmate Becky Martin in their physical therapy class at Athens Technical Institute on Thursday, September 29, 2011 in Athens, Ga.

David Manning/StaffBreast cancer survivor Cindy South on Thursday, September 29, 2011 in Athens, Ga.

Athens Technical College student Cindy South was so inspired by the faith and courage her mother, Mary Lang, demonstrated while battling breast cancer, that South decided to pursue a career as a physical therapist assistant to help others with their physical well-being.

“(My mother’s bout with cancer) played a huge part of my wanting to enroll in the physical therapist assistant program at Athens Tech,” said South, a resident of Madison. “For me to go into a field where you can be part of physically helping people was important.”

When doctors first diagnosed Lang with breast cancer, the mass in her chest was enormous, South said.

“The tumor was very large and coming through her skin,” said South.

It’s often crucial to detect cancer early — when the tumor might be no larger than a pea — but the mass in South’s mother was the size of a fist, South said.

South was floored by the news.

“My mom called us at home and told me and my husband, Jeff, she had been diagnosed with breast cancer at a very advanced stage,” South said. “Those kind of phone calls just kind of knock you down. We were very afraid, because the doctors put her in the worst category — an advanced stage.”

A subsequent test, fortunately showed that the cancer had not spread badly. Lang underwent a mastectomy, and doctors also took out as many lymph nodes as could be safely removed. That was followed by chemotherapy, radiation and treatments with a new drug called herceptin.

The Souths moved Lang to Madison, so Cindy could help her by taking her to the oncologist, sitting with her for chemo treatments and staying by her side for other medical visits.

“We were side by side in the chemo room throughout the journey, and she never complained,” South said. “When it was done, she would ask what we do next. Her faith was amazing.”

South too felt buoyed by her own faith, her family and her friends who supported them as well.

Watching the care that nurses and other members of the medical support team gave her mother, stirred in South a desire to do something more than providing a hand to hold or a home-cooked meal.

After her mother’s treatment was over, South decided to participate in the Susan G. Komen Foundation walks in Atlanta to raise money for breast cancer research.

Through those events, South met more and more women like her mother, whose strength and determination continued to impress her.

“To sit there and watch poison go through your body is hard; to wake up with hair on your pillow is hard and you’re always thinking, ‘Is it coming back?’ ” South said. “And to watch these women walk those miles after going through that, it’s inspiring.”

All these experiences kept pushing South to look at a career in the medical field.

“Walking beside someone without having a background in a medical field, you feel helpless,” South said. “You know there is more you could do, so that certainly was a huge part that had me looking at the medical field.”

South grew up dancing and she has worked for many years in the fitness industry instructing weight training and aerobics. That background convinced her that studying to be a physical therapist assistant offered her the best avenue to help others.

“It was a natural thing for me to do,” she said. “Everything I did up this point was fitness related, but for my age (51) I didn’t want to do a four-year school.”

Even though the physical therapist assistant program at Athens Tech is typically a two-year associate degree, South’s schedule as a housewife and helping her husband’s business hasn’t allowed her to fast-track the curriculum, so when she finishes in May, she will have put in about three and a half years earning the degree.

Still, she says the vast knowledge she has gained was worth it, and she expects the profession to be very fulfilling. While physical therapist assistants can’t offer evaluations or prescriptions to patients, they can do most other things the physical therapist can, South said. Most importantly, they work one-on-one with patients with a hands-on approach, she said.

In her courses, South learned that patients who have been treated for breast cancer and have had mastectomies need to exercise their arms, and lymphodema management for swelling in the arms and legs requires physical therapy as well.

“Now that I’m in the program, I realize there is so much more that physical therapy can offer for wellness and health,” she said. “Physical therapy isn’t just about treating what’s going on right now, it’s also about fitness and wellness and fixing them for good.”

South would love to work in the cancer field, but realistically will remain open to all options.

In the meantime, in February, Lang will hit her six-year mark since being diagnosed.